Tick Tock

I've written on this passage before, but it's just too good to pass up again. We'll take a different approach to it this time. Keep in mind that these words are about Jesus:

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven, and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities..."
Colossians 1:15-16

For the astute Bible scholars out there, you'll know that I left some off of verse 16. We'll pick it up in a few mouse-wheel scrolls.

Anyways, we don't typically think about Jesus in this way. We normally think of Him as the man that humbly walked the earth and gloriously suffered for our sins. These things are beautiful and we should think about them every day! But here, we see Jesus as Creator. Jesus was there the day God spoke the universe into existence. He made everything you see and established every authority you've known. He conjured out of thin air all invisible things like ideas and wisdom and emotions. This man that set foot in Jerusalem made Jersualem! The man that saves souls made souls! Jesus is our God. Creator and all.

But it doesn't end there. We could fall into a trap here. We could say, "Alright, I admit that this universe must have had some divine beginning, but that's it. I think God's left it on its own. It's like He wound up a clock and then let it run its course". We could say that Jesus spoke and then let us be.

Now, let's finish the passage:

"...all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together"
Colossians 1:16-17

The first part repeats our conclusion that all things were created through Him, but then a startling little three-letter word appears that changes everything: for. Jesus had a goal in mind when He made all things: His glory! When He made everything we see, He made it for Him! When He establishes authorities, He made them for Him. He made Jerusalem for Him and saves our souls for Him. The universe isn't just an engineering project to start a clock and see how it turns out. It's a factory that makes glory for Jesus!

The last part says in Him all things hold together. Jesus isn't just a Creator. He's a Sustainer. If the sun rises tomorrow, the only reason it will happen is because Jesus permitted the sun to rise. More personally, if you take a breath in the next 10 seconds, you're still breathing only because Jesus permitted it. If Jesus wasn't actively, lovingly, and powerfully holding this universe together, it would tear apart at the seams! So, this brings us to the all-important closing question the we all need to ask ourselves: Do we trust that Jesus is our great Sustainer?

As we eat our meals or study for exams or stress about work or watch TV, do we acknowledge that Christ is perfectly sustaining our lives? In the midst of tragedies like death or collapsing freeways or trapped miners, do we stand on Jesus our Rock? When we make plans, do we acknowledge that they will only come to fruition if Christ allows? As you stare at these words on your computer screen, do you understand that Christ may have you read this for a reason? Could it be that He wants you to realize that He sustains all things and made them (including you) for His glory?

Yes, Jesus is our Sustainer, Creator, and Savior. He's worthy of our lives. Nothing else comes close.

Adverbs Are Our Friends

I've been thinking a lot lately about Isaiah 58:11 and I've come to an interesting conclusion. Here's the verse:

And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail
Isaiah 58:11

We're only going to focus on the first clause, so let's look at it by itself:

And the Lord will guide you continually

This verse has comforted me the last few weeks and the conclusion I came to is that adverbs are our friends. If you notice, the word "continually" makes a huge difference in this verse's meaning. To illustrate, let's look at the verse without the adverb:

And the Lord will guide you

On the surface, this sounds great. The Lord will guide you! But then questions surface in your head like, "Well, when will He guide me? Will He abandon me? What do I have to do to keep Him guiding me?" With no adverb, those questions go unanswered.

But, thanks be to God, He gave us an adverb! And not just any adverb, He gave us the word continually! Continually assures us that God will guide us always. It reminds us that He'll remain faithful even as we're faithless. It promises us that He'll never leave us or forsake us! Yes, the word continually is all important!

What's interesting here is that if you read all of chapter 58, God's placed a condition on this guidance. He's explaining this guidance as a benefit if the Israelites meet a certain requirement. Looking at the beginning of the chapter, it actually talks about fasting. The Israelites are fasting, praying, and seeking God's will, but they're frustrated because they aren't getting any answers (v. 1-3a). So, Isaiah, speaking on God's behalf, reminds them that their fasts are ineffective because they fast and pray while leaving sin unaddressed and disobeying God's heart for the poor and oppressed. God then reminds them that if they repent of their sin and obey His commands to care for the poor, He'll promise them all kinds of glorious blessings, including His unfailing guidance.

We stand in a similar situation. A question we should all be asking is, "How am I assured that God will guide me continually?". If we read chapter 58 at a surface level, we'd assume that we should "get good" and give to the poor so that God will accept us. But that's not what He's after in this passage or in our lives. He wants a humble heart that will repent of sin and seek His heart, including His heart for the poor. He's not after your behavior, He's after your heart.

Unfortunately, we're naturally inclined to resist giving Him our hearts. We're full of sin and we foolishly reject God's gift of Himself. We sin because we like it and we're indifferent towards the poor because it's convenient. This is why Jesus came. God knew that we'd spit in the face of His promise to guide us continually, so He let us spit in the face of His Son and murder Him on a cross. Little did we know, through this, Jesus paid the penalty for our sins and offers us new, repentant, and humble hearts if we simply trust Him. Give Jesus your heart, and He will guide you.......continually!